SONALA OLUMHENSE FROM PUNCH
Today in Abidjan, the Super Eagles will commence the task of trying to win the 2023 Cup of Nations for Nigeria.
A decade ago, when Nigeria last won the title, most of today’s players were probably young kids struggling to watch the matches through people’s windows. A few days ago, they flew out of Lagos hoping to return with the biggest prize in African sport.
Hopefully, they will not find out until the end of the competition that the Nigerian passport that makes them eligible is now one of the world’s most worthless, close to the bottom of the Henley Passport Index annual list with such nations as Somalia, Sudan and Afghanistan.
Add that to the collapsing naira, which as they boarded their flight was trading on the streets at over 1,200 to the US dollar, with Bloomberg News saying it was “poised for its worst year since the return to democracy in 1999,” after a year in which it “plunged 55%” to 1,043 per dollar officially.
These are a couple of measures of the nation on behalf of which our players will confront the rest of Africa’s best. We want them to do very well, and if there is ever unity in Nigeria, it is when the Super Eagles play.
Trying to fire up the squad, former Senate President David Mark reappeared in the headlines, citing “the indomitable human spirit and the unyielding pursuit of greatness Nigeria is known for,” and her “resilience and sportsmanship.” He even deployed the concept of “utmost integrity.”
Hosting the team to dinner in Lagos on their way out, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stressed that their triumph would deeply comfort their compatriots in their suffering.
“You are our country’s unifier, as much as we will be putting pressure on you during the matches, Nigerians expect you to (unify) us. We believe we have the men who can do it for us.”
He urged them to ignore every obstacle and demonstrate their undying spirit as Nigerians, reminding them of the massive support of 220 million people. “This is how you can write your names in gold forever.”
Both men are right: Winning the Nations Cup marks an indelible moment in the name of each victorious player. But while men such as Mr. Mark and Mr. Sanwo-Olu can wax lyrical at a time such as this, we rarely commit to preparing our sportsmen—indeed our citizens—for excellence.
Consider, for instance, that the Super Eagles were merely traveling through Lagos, where they do not have a training base. A place such as Badagry would be wonderful for such a project, and it would speak far more for Sanwo-Olu than his “just-go-win-for-us” speech last week.
The Super Eagles—and our sports in general—do not have one in Abuja, either. Nor do we have a serious sports structure by which our best can emerge and be nurtured.
Despite the presence in Abuja of the federal government, the Ministry of Sports, and the Federal Capital Territory administration, even the National Stadium is rarely ready when our national soccer teams schedule a match to be played there.
Consider that the Super Eagles prepared for Cote d’Ivoire in Dubai, where such facilities are available, and where—although we have limited national respect there—our wealthy and well-connected, including their wives and girlfriends, go to express themselves.
Why are we like this? Why can’t Nigeria produce at least Africa’s best sprinters, for example, while the Jamaicans produce the world’s best?
